Secrets of Gambale Sweeping! Ch. 5 - The Four Motions of Gambale Sweeping
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- Опубліковано 20 кві 2020
- THE MAGNET CAMERA MOUNT IS NOW ON KICKSTARTER! Film your own playing just like we did with Frank! www.kickstarter.com/projects/...
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What do you get when you combine two alternate picking motions, two sweeping motions, and Frank's creative genius? Music! In this final installment, we assemble the component parts of Gambale Sweeping into the complete system, and describe the simple set of rules that you can use to determine which motions go with which kinds of phrases. For the complete interview, with tablature, go here: troygrady.com/interviews/fran...
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The picking motions we're looking at here are not achieved by simply "slanting the pick". The wrist motion Frank uses for DSX picking is actually a different wrist motion the one he uses for USX picking. To learn the motions, choose your pairing of grip and arm position, and then learn how to move the wrist along these two slightly different diagonal trajectories.
I think I've learned more from Troy's work this last month than I've ever learned in my 24 years of playing. I now know things that used to be hard to play for me. Thanks dude. 🤘
Glad to hear it!
All this mechanical wealth Frank possesses clearly stems from the fact that he's playing more MUSIC than every other sweeper out there. His Fusion upbringing, his varied musical tastes and his Country and Blues Rock roots all surface in his musical conception. His musical output NEEDS all these movements to come to fruition as it has so originally done. There's a big lesson there for us students. Having a clear aural idea of your music and striving for its realization will make your technique bloom.
Even before I heard of Frank Gambale this was EXACTLY how I did sweeping and alternate picking. Down to the 2 way economy picking.
Franks technique is awesome ok, but what impresses me even more is how tasteful everything is that he plays
Totally! He's always playing cool stuff.
Troy, what you are doing is priceless. Amazing videos. "Speed Picking" irreversibly changed my way of playing a guitar 15 years ago. But your videos took it to a totally new and conscious level. Thank you so much.
It is worth mentioning, though, the way Frank rests his right hand wrist on the guitar is another element of his precise playing. Thanks again!
Thanks Troy, I was taught by one of Frank's pupils and have been sweeping for 30 years. Finally, thanks to this series, I know why I sweep faster one way than the other and what I need to do to fix that. You've inspired me to pick up my guitar and practice harder than I have for years. Thank you
When I discovered Frank some 15 years ago, I never looked back. My only regret is, I didn't discover him 30 years ago.
Hi, Troy. I'm from Brazil. my english is very limited, but i need to say thank you very much. I saw several videos of Cracking the code and they all helped me a lot. May God bless your life for the great work.
Muito obrigado!
I slant the pick back towards me in a comfortable holding position but I use the leading edge of the pick to ascend and the trailing edge of the pick to descend. Frank’s sweeping techniques got me hooked on sweep picking. Hammer on’s and pull off’s always allow me to be in the right position to sweep in the direction I want to go. Frank’s the best and Troy you have made it easier for those who want to get it right! My hats off to both of you!
Wish I'd had all of this info when I was trying to figure out the Speed Picking book in 1988
Yeah, I bought a “Speed Picking” book and cassette in ‘90, I believe.
Troy breaks it down, which is good, though. I never thought too much about it. I just practiced the exercises.
I did notice it impacting how I approach writing/playing my own material as well as how I approach learning new songs.
Sometimes I use alternating picking methods bases on the phrasings. I still have to think about it while in the writing/learning mode. But, I assume that the varied picking motions have worked their way into my playing when I’m not consciously thinking about them.
frank didn’t have the info yet he did quite well lol
Masterful, in-depth, & upclose. Thanks Frank and Troy for really taking the initiative.
Many thanks to Frank for sitting down for this. It's always a thrill when someone is willing to share literally decades of training with the rest of us.
Frank said in a very old interview - he's like water running downhill, he will find the most efficient way to play what he wants to play
I’m not much of a sweeper, but even making these adjustments have already improved my sweeping a lot (although I still have a long way to go)
Thank you so much Troy for all this precious work. After months of tryning to change my picking technique according to these informations, I can say it really boosted up my playing, and made me able to head to another level, I was stucked before. Really thank you. If there's some way of giving you a donation I will be glad to do it.
Great videos! I've seen the Electric Band play a couple of times and one time I was right up against the stage. Frank's left hand fingers just glide over the strings with ease, it's amazing to watch. One thing I've noticed that's to his advantage is that he's got sizeable hands, particularly pretty robust fingers which means there's way more surface area to connect with the string. I have very slim fingers and when I'm attempting gambale sweeping I have to really focus hard on the accuracy of my left hand fingers landing in the right spot i.e. not between strings or not applying enough pressure in the right spot when rolling a finger across several strings, which I feel takes focus away from improving the right hand techniques such as angles, slanting, escape zones etc.
Really enjoyed this series of videos. Thank you, Troy et al!
outstanding work Troy, excellent!
Great stuff! thank you, love the detail and in depth look
This makes SO much sense. Absolute hacks. The difference in my playing after an hour of this is unbelievable.
Troy you are a national treasure. Thanks for unlocking our potential!!!
Some of the best videos out there! Thanks so much!
thank you for your amazing work Troy!
Absolutely incredible investigative and breakdown work Troy and the Cracking The Code team. Seriously astounding.
Best Troy's video to date, hands down! Kudos
Frank is one of a kind!
Thank you Frank, Troy, and the Cracking the Code team for your enlightening contributions to musical education.
Thanks for the knowledge sharing :)
So basically...Frank’s amazing at everything😜 Another awesome vid guys!!!
From the magnet view it looks like Frank is varying his grip on the pick while alternating between reverse and downward sweeping,a looser grip on the reverse.Thanks for this stunning look at Frank's picking wizardry Troy.
thanks for the videos!
This is the most engaging educational series I've come across, for any topic. Excellent work!
It'd be super interesting to see an analysis of Tosin Abasi's playing in this format 👀
I love your stuff brother!!
Yes, you're spot on!
Evidently, for myself, the upward slanting definitely requires more practice. Lots more!
Again, thanks Troy!
You brought delight back to learning for this ear taught player. Consistently boosting me over a 30 year insurmountable wall.
👍
@useD raW
👍
For me it's incorporating the reverse of downslanting into my years of a natural upslanting technique, now modified with those single string sweeps.
Just as Yngwie M and Eric J push thru, down to the next higher string, reversing the slant allows the opposite.
And another Troy gem is the switching between them technique of using the "butterknife" technique, with your wrist using the same motion to reverse, as spreading butter on toast.
But it's practicing that, a reversal of slant for alternate picking and instead of pushing through to the next higher string? Pulling thru to the next lower string, and the ensuing "backwards" upstroke.
"It's alien". As Troy says, "feels weird"!
Practicing this at first, isn't very satisfying because of the minimal success due to that awkwardness and unfamiliarity I felt.
But just like incorporating that downward "push through" felt awkward at first? Two things occur.
One is the detachment from muscle memory.
Two is that forces seeing the path forward instead of blindly using a repetition of muscle memory that built my 30 year wall in the first place!
Perseverance and practice is key. Don't be discouraged, bored or frustrated. Simply slow down and see the path through scale and its various adjacent fingering patterns.
One way is to use a metronome, practice the up riffs or scales, then when you feel more or less comfortable with it?
Just double the count.
And when you reverse slanting?
Convert that last note in the downstroke, to an upstroke with your wrist. Like reversing the stroke of that butter knife. You're now poised to move up with the downslant!
Eventually it becomes second nature and all the tools of cracking the code, slowly become useful, at your fingertips!
One other thing.
Don't try to be Yngwie. Melodic is far more important than fast.
Speed is the byproduct, melodic playing is a deliberate choice.
Allow speed to build naturally from that.
Besides, IMO?
Bursts of speed within melody, generally sounds far better than bursts of melody within speed...;)
Enjoy the journey. It never ends once you surmount that wall. You'll always have something to challenge yourself with.
✌💨
Best series ever!!!!!!
How much work u put on that video , Respect
Troy you are a treasure!
Fantastic.
And the full universe is revealed, Thanks to Frank and Troy.
Many props to Frank for sitting for this!
So great to see some Benson decoded here too!
He's a beast! And "only" does DWPS.
@@troygrady Thank you for helping me to Finally learn to get out of the string trap find the key to applying all of my George Benson material! And watching Frank Gambale play GB style, on a GB-10 (M.I.'s ThrowbackThursday), just, Totally, finalized my decision to learn Gambale Sweeping! Wish your work had been done 45 years Earlier!!! I can't thank you enough!!!
Great!! Invaluable! Should be some method like this for doble stops, string skipping, tridas, chords, etc, so i could dream to play someday like joe pass, or pat martino....
168k subscribers only. Here's the evidence; for, how many people really want to learn the art of playing guitar
criminally unsubscribed. lol
awesome job, make one talking about hybrid picking! maybe there is something about it in the channel i will see now, just in case
Very interesting series. I think Frank's technique is very natural. I also play and it all seems very natural. If you travel downwards you escape up. If the opposite you escape down. Maybe it's more about note groupings. I don't know :/
amazing! is there tips of the other hand?
Wow!
JI think You can interview Dan Wilson. His picking technique is great as well
That chart at 113:55 ...
the hardest to master (IMHO) is say down on the G and up on the A.
We're "trapped" in the channel between two strings.
It's like having to shovel earth over both sides of a trench.
I watched the past 3 Frank Gambale episodes in a row. I'm mentally fried.
I can relate!
I think its worth noting that generally and for the most part his USX alternate picking happens on the top 3 strings after an upward sweep and conversely, his DSX alternate picking happens on the lower 3 strings after a downward sweep.
Frank does have preferences, and he seems to prefer the UWPS "mode" overall, but it's on all strings not just the lower ones. We've looked at numerous examples of this so far in these features, but in genreal, any time you see UUD, UUUD, UUUD, and so on, the downstroke in those sequences is his DSX alternate picking motion.
@@troygrady thanks love your work from a fellow long islander
The toughest thing is the synching of the fretting or soloing fingers and the sweep motions
This explains why the cycles 7th chord arpeggios in his technique book are so much easier ascending than descending.
You sweep through the 1 3 and 5, alternate pick up stroke the 7. And since you used DWPS for the sweep, you get a USX on the last note.
But in the descending arpeggios you don’t get to take advantage of this same economy style.
Maybe now I can actually start finding a solution...
Your description of the ascending thing is exactly correct, nice work. It's worth noting though that you only see those examples in his instructional stuff. In the entire live interview he almost never plays them. All those types of combos are in UWPS mode, UUD, UUUD, and so on. Those have identical efficiency to the USX DDU, DDDU, etc, just inverted.
would have been great to have a camera on his fretting hand overlaid during all this so we can see both parts, not just the picking. A small square insert in the corner with his fretting hand at the fast and slow speeds, synced up obviously. Nice analysis in these vids. Funny vid of Guthrie showing alt picking and the camera only shows his fretting hand. gotta love that. worse than the concerts where the camera focuses on the bassist during the guitar solo.
Could you talk a bit about arranging lines with even number of notes per string? I mean the left hand. I‘ve got difficulties with that.
Fantastic series!
The only concept I don’t understand is when does Frank resort to the double escape method?
If he can alternate pick using either pick slant, what motivates him to switch to no slant at all?
Sorry if I missed the explanation.
Russell Sneddon different tone quality? Expression maybe?
No worries. The "90-degree rule" of pick attack is that the pick must be oriented 90 degrees to its path of motion so that upstrokes and downstrokes are equally smooth. That's what we covered in Ch.4. In two of Frank's alternate picking techniques, the motion paths are angled, so the pick must also be angled to maintain this 90 degree rule. The double escape motion is not angled, it's curved. This is a little technical, but if you think back to high school physics, if you swing an object around on a rope, if you were to cut it loose, it would fly off in a straight line along the tangent to the circle. So at the moment the pick hits the string, it is basically moving along that tangent, which is parallel to the strings. In other words, you can ignore the curve - in a double escape motion, the pick is basically moving parallel to the strings as far as we care for pick attack. So following the 90-degree rule, the pick must have no pickslant for a double escape motion. Now why would you use a double escape motion at all? Mainly because it can do one note per string if you want. The other motions can't. They can only do even numbers of notes per string. There all sorts of fine points but this is the basic scenario. When you see Frank go back and forth between two strings at these medium speeds, using alternate picking and playing only one note on each string, that's when you see him use the DBX (double escape) motion.
Troy Grady, thanks so much for the detailed explanation! Does he only do it at “medium speeds” and, if so, why not at faster speeds?
Hi Troy, amazing breakdown of a master's technique thanks!
One question about the pick's path over the strings in the X/Y plane (parallel to the body the guitar):
It seems to me that on some parts of the footage, mainly for sweeping across a high number of strings, Franck might be slightly bending his thumb and first finger?
Which would bring the pick closer to the neck or the bridge depending on the direction of sweeping.
Have you observed an oval motion of the pick in the X/Y plane?
Then what about where to sit the wrist in order to switch from a UWPS to a DWPS or vice versa?
The overall position seems to be quite high near the low E string, rotating around one specific spot isn't it?
This feels pretty awkward to me when i try it...
Thanks!
Cheers
Yes there's a bunch of finger motion going on to change the pick orienation. Generally the thumb bend correlates to UWPS, the straight thumb to DWPS. That's how he reorients. That's the crux of it. We didn't get into the "how to" of what he does because that would have been a whole other video, more tutorial in nature.
@@troygrady Thanks!
Man ! You got to analyze Holdsworth picking.
Picking physics 🤘
Thunder Current by frank gambale ur welcome
Muita doidera! Meu cérebro dói
Standard Model of Elementary Shred!
I really had no idea what I was doing, but this is how I pick everything, too. I sound nothing like Frank, but his articles in Guitar Player were very influential before I had ever heard his playing. I have to ask...what is the advantage to slanting the pick depending on direction? Would it be better to have no slant so you don't have to change it every time the line changes direction? Could this be done with no slant, or is that a fundamental concept to Frank's technique?
Did you watch Ch. 3 on alternate picking and Ch. 4 on pick attack? These two explain the connection between alternate picking, sweeping, and pickslanting. In Frank's system the alternate picking motions are angled. This is how all of the fastest alternate picking motions work, and why the fastest alternate picking motions can only play even numbers of notes per string without hitting other strings, or without introducing other "helper" motions. In addition to this, for smooth pick attack, you want the pick to always be oriented 90 degrees to its path of motion. Thus, the pick must be angled to match the angled picking motion. If it's not, one of the pickstrokes, either the upstroke or the downstroke, will grab the string and feel sticky. The animations in Ch. 4 clarify further.
@@troygrady This explains why, when I descend back across the strings, I have an upward slant, and it seems effortless picking every note. When I am ascending, I feel the stickiness, as my pick isn't slanted, it is flat. This is with 3 note per string patterns, though. Even though my pick is 'falling' to the next highest string, that weird stickiness is there, like when you hear Steve Howe play a fast line.
How many notes does he have to play on one string in order to switch from USX to DSX? Are there also examples of him playing three notes per string, then one note on the next string and then going immediately back to the string he started out? Of course I am lightyears away from playing at his level, but I‘m just curious. PS Thx for the awesome video! Great work as always!
Yes there are instances of this where he does an inside picking, one-note-on-a-string change in direction. It's not super common. The arm motion you use to change the forearm position between the pickslants simply results in a curved pickstroke that escapes. He doesn't do it repeatedly inside a phrase, because if you do, you're basically doing pure alternate forearm rotation double escape picking. So at that point it becomes semantic whether you call that "the same technique", if you see what I'm saying. At the end of the day, these are just motions. Any picking sequence you want to do, there's a motion you can make. You can assemble some of these motions together and call them a picking style, like "Gambale Sweeping", but again, semantics.
Troy Grady Troy Grady Thx, because I couldn‘t find the answer to that in your videos whether or not there were limits to his staccato abilities, but now I know they’re bullet proof ;) „BASICALLY pure alternate forearm rotation double escape picking“ Talk about semantics XD
I would love it if Troy Grady inspect the left hand, and then left/right sync to this level of detail
Because it is my left hand dragging my speed.
Are you sure your fretting hand is slower? How do you know? A lot of times, players come to us and say this, but when we film them we find out that the fretting hand is just as fast, just playing wrong notes. Filming yourself playing simple repeating single-string patterns is a good test to figure this out.
True secreat is that there is another secreat in this secreat.
The secret is not the plectrum slope \ or | or /
but the plectrum's height above the strings.
how about a vid on how to put this stuff in to practice and learn to do it?
@@interestingthings8598 it'd be nice to get some guidance on how to learn how to do it.
I've been studying this for about a week now as a premium member. Been learning a lot but I'm using a jazz 3 pick. Does anybody know what type of pics that he's using here?
They talk about in the previous video (ch. 4) at around 1.50
The specific model is a Planet Waves "Wide Shape" in 1mm white celluloid. The "wide shape" is really the classic D'Andrea 346 design from back in the day, which we now think of as mostly an acoustic pick. Frank is unorthodox among modern players in having always used it on electric.
@@troygrady He's bending his second finger or holding the pic by fingertip's ? Does he mute the other strings by his hand ?
I just noticed I use downward pick slanting with the lead edge when ascending however when descending I don’t change anything but use the trailing edge. Does anyone else do this? I think this works so I’m not going to change. Hopefully this is helpful for others who have been playing for years.
The series is great but I think we need to be careful because not everything you may be doing needs to be changed.
John 5 also has a fixed downwards pickslant. Probably why he can't up sweep.
If Frank can alternate pick in both slants(or TWPS),then why he prefer economic picking 3nps scales than Alternate picking it like MAB or Vinnie Moore...Is it a matter or preference or is it a think that is difficult for him?
3nps scales require a slightly different approach. The best wrist motion scale players like Paul Gilbert and Andy Wood don't use "2wps" for that, they just keep the arm stationary and change the direction of the wrist motion to switch between DSX and USX. That's why we've stopped using the term "pickslanting" to describe picking motions, and only use it to describe the pick's orientation. More generally, though, Frank has said he never liked the heavy scalar sound that was big in the 70s with players like McLaughlin and Di Meola. True enough, his playing doesn't really sound like that. He demonstrates scales on his instructional videos but generally doesn't play them that much in his own playing.
Thanks @@troygrady yeah..I agree
Troy, Is UWPS then just a requirement for DSX? That is my conclusion, UWPS is just the way to get DSX and DWPS to USX. After watching all videos I still have some doubts, am I right?
A pickslant facilitates the escape motion but it's not required. Some crosspickers use an escape stroke without the corresponding pickslant
Sort of. If you look at players like Andy Wood, who we've done a lot of work with, Andy is a DSX player but you can look at his pick even up close with the Magnet and not really be sure what "slant" you're seeing. That's because for the escape angle is shallow, maybe 10-15 degrees, and Andy uses a lot of edge picking, which can still smooth over the attack. This is similar to what Frank does when he's doing fast pure alternate 2nps and 4nps type lines with no sweeping. His escape trajectory is similarly shallow in those cases, and you wouldn't really notice the "pickslant" if you weren't looking for it. This is why I'd say, think of these things as motions first and foremost. If you're trying to play lines where the final note on every string is downstroke, like a pentatonic scale starting with an upstroke, then you need a DSX motion for that, and you have to choose a joint that is capable of that motion. The wrist can do all escape motions. While elbow for example, can only do DSX. That's just the way that joint moves. Motions first, pickslant second - if you have to worry about it at all.
@@ozzy9691 Yes, you're right. You can have almost no pickslant and still go for USX or DSX. Let's say UWPS facilitates DSX. However, if you have are using UWPS you can't go for USX you are forced to go for DSX.
@@troygrady Thanks Troy, this subject is so interesting. These series made me remember how mesmerized I was by FG "Monster Licks and Speed Picking"when I got it in VHS format in the mid 90's.
I like this, yet i dislike the amount of time it will take me to get to do the slow motion version of this.
Troy, you say that when descends he switches strings after downstrokes, doesn't he Also switches using upstroke but just use economy picking.
Yes. The "UWPS" mode has two ingredients. Alternate picking, where string changes must occur after downstrokes but can move to a higher string or lower string. And sweeping, where string changes must occur after upstrokes, and can only move to a lower string. We tried to make this clear with the various on-screen graphics in this video but it's a lot to present!
@@troygrady thank you, Troy.
14:00 So... Are there any more picking mysteries left to be revealed? Lol
There biggest unresolved questions relate to learning the techniques. Specifically where and how do you position yourself: what are the arm positions and anchor points that go together, which pick grips match with these arm position and anchor points, what joint motions can be used for each type of picking motion, and so on. There are reasons why middle-finger grip players like Albert Lee and EVH appear to have the same forearm position and make similar picking motions. The more we can find these simple correlations, the more concrete instructions we can give people, and the more years we can shave of the learning process.
The thing I've noticed about my own playing is that I seem to do a "baby" version of this, but they don't really blend very well. For example the standard 3nps scale exercise ascending and descending; I've always lost time when I flip the picking. I'm not a *total* scrub, I've been playing for 22+ years, but I've never been able to avoid feeling lag or that "getting caught" sensation when trying to turn back around on the top strings. IDK if this is a common issue or not, it feels like understanding the nature of DWPS and UWPS would obviate this over time, but I can't seem to root it out.
Most of the famous 3nps scale players, like Paul Gilbert, do it with wrist motion. The escapes are shallow, so there does not need to be a change in "pickslant" to do it. A little edge picking takes care of smoothing the attack. You keep the arm and grip centralized, and simply train the wrist to move in the opposite escape as needed. So the pick is indeed moving along different diagonal motions, as you see here in Frank's technique, but you won't see the pick flopping this way and that way like it does here. The main reason we see that in Frank's technique is because of sweeping. He wants the extra sliding. But when you look at great pure alternate players like Andy Wood, Albert Lee, or Steve Morse, you don't see that. Shallow escape angle = much less obvious and/or no pickslant change. Sweepiong = more angled pick for sliding, more obvious pickslant change to sweep in the other direction.
Get George Benson to appear on your channel!
All well and good but don't forget Gambale's beautiful note clusters. That's music theory. Without it, the speed of notes is just noise.
Never forgotten! Addressed in the first video in the series. He's a technique pioneer, but it''s his musicality that keeps us coming back.
i prefer Marshall Harrison’s Swybryd to turn the pick around; it is the evolution of economy picking.
Swybryd eliminates the one problem Gambale picking has. But imo it has its own challenges...keeping rhythm. The gypsy technique is the most reliable for me. It is limited but it is like having a metronome build in ..in the picking hand. for improvising I started using dwps rest stroke picking +hybrid middle finger plug instead of an upstroke on a higher string if necessary. Troy should revisit Marshall because of swybryd, which is for sure the fastest and most economical way to play single note lines.
stringbenderbb i have no rhythm problems with swybryd in particular. my rhythm problems are generally the sum of all the mechanical parts in unison. i guess i don’t even consider it a problem but actually more of a challenge which makes it fun for me and i love that i’m improving everyday
9:44 11::03 15:51
I really miss Franks old Marshall tone
"PAUL GILBERT, PAUL GILBERT, PAUL GILBERT, SLOW MOTION PLEASE"
Yes
We all want Paul Gilbert. Great teacher, amazing technique, and such a great attitude about everything.
nothing but beautiful. Anyone saying anything otherwise is just plain SILLY face !
Oh no not silly face!
@@troygrady ohhhh yes...totally silly face! cheers from Jefferson City, MO. keep on pickin' on! Hey, I'm a Troy, as well...coincidence??? lol
Your fretting hand has to be capable of these faster patterns too Troy! Just because you can pick it doesn't mean you can fret it this fast mate!!!!!
Troy does get into that in other videos.
Another teacher on YT does great one-handed legato exercises.
3:45